li.'YAI. COMMISSION ON AORICULTDBE. 



1919.] 



Ml: K r BOI RN1 



[Continued. 



1. (6) If the hours are shortened to M |N i man 

 per week (here will be a km of 48 hours fur the 1- n..-i. 

 employed. In M> far M the teams are concerned, this 

 estimated shortage (12 hours per week) can be made 

 up by working overtime. Assuming; that the iwtim.it. 

 of cite working hours per week given in my let to 

 to the " Times," of August 15th, is the minimum 

 which ia required to keep this particular farm in 

 a state of fertility, there w ill bo a difference of 20 

 hours per week to be made up. Of thcbc hours. 

 probably eight will be worked by tlio mrn who ar>- t in 

 I 'with tlu> tractor, having IS hours overtime 

 to bo <1 i I'Lxl amongst seven remaining men. This 

 will probably work out at three hours per week for 

 the ordinary labourer and throe hours per week 

 divided between the stockman and shepherd. If this 

 forecast is correct, the waggoners and tractor drivers 

 will receive 40s. 6d. |x>t *. an increase since 



1914 of 32s. 6d. (125 per cent.) whilst the ordinary 

 labourer will receive a weekly wage of 39s. 6d., 

 increase 21s. Cd. (119 per cent.l. In my opinion this 

 tendency for certain individuals to obtain a higher 

 rate of weekly wages, in addition to definite p/.y 

 meiits in n-spn t of their special duties, is not likely 

 to arrest tho feeing of discontent with existing 

 conditions. 



.'. (7) Moreover tho rise of wages is not propor- 

 tionate to the rise in the wage cost, e.g. : 



, . d. 



Wages of 11 men at 1S K . per week ... 9 18 

 Wages of 12 men at 36s. (id. per week 30 18 

 Increase, 12. 

 Percentage increase, 121-2. 

 The present increase in wages is 100 per rent. 

 If the hours are further shortened the cost of wages 

 will be: 



.1. d 



Wages of 12 men nt 36s. 6d. per week 21 1 

 38 hours overtime at K. per hour ... 1 18 



23 16 



Increase since 191 1, 13 !. 

 Percentage increase, 140 per rent. 



In the meantime tho rise of wages in the highest 

 pid class viz., waggoners, is only l'2-~> per rent, ami 

 in the case of the general laourer 119 per rent. 



It is obvious if the value of agricultural produce 

 is to bear a relationship to tho cost of produ 

 that with a further shortening of hours the price of 

 wheat must rise and if the rise is in proportion to the 

 increased coat of production, this rise in price of 

 wheat must inevitably be greater than any rise in 

 wages and thus the purchasing power of the labourer 

 it lessened. 



5563. (8) The cost of keeping one Hereford cow is 

 12 per annum in 1918. Of this amount, 10 repre- 

 sent* food and C2 wage*. vet.. A-c. In the case I am 

 dealing with practically all the food is grown on the 

 farm itm'lf '! represents rent and rates on tho 

 pastures, ami the remaining L'7 is for food grown on 

 the farm. Of thin amount, about 5 10s. is 

 paid in wages, the remaining 30s. being for rent, 

 manures, Ac. 



llenre it follows that an increase in the cost of 

 laUmr must ha\e a \ery marked elfeet on the cost of 

 in. -at. The \alue of a Hereford i-alf when weaned is 

 between il- to lo, a sum which does, not allow 

 much margin for profit, when the value of th. 

 and the risk of loss is taken into account. A further 

 increase of 1M percent, in labour costs will in. 

 the cost of keeping a cow from 12 to !'! H>s. per 

 annum, and this will leave a very small margin of 

 profit for stock breeders, so small, in fact, as to 

 endanger the future of the industry. 



iN It In tho above calculation no allowai,- 

 made for the cost of fattening beasts for the Imteher. 

 This requires purchased foods, and the cost per 

 animal per annum is much higher than i'l'J. this 

 figure being the cost of keeping a breeding cow in 



5564. (9) I hope to be able to lay figures before the 

 Commission showing the cost of production of certain 

 crops, but unfortunately certain account 1-ooks have 

 not arrived by- post, and I am not in a position to 

 include these figures in my Statement of Kvidence. 



1 attach a ropy of my letter of August 1-th to 

 " The Times " for information, and have marked the 

 part which I wish to put in as evidence. 



(10) Kj-trnrt from LHIi r to " Tlir Timrs" of 12-f/i 

 August. 



" The hooks of the farm (a large mixed farm in 



II, icfordshiro of 440 acres, one-third lieing arable, 

 with 20 statute acres of hops in addition) have been 

 examined carefully, and it appears from these that 

 prior to 1918 overtime payments were very excep- 

 tional, save during harvest and haymaking? In 

 l!i|s. with the additional tillage required owing to 

 the war, 11 men were employed, and the average 

 overtime worked slightly exceeded two hours per 

 man per week, except during harvest and hay- 

 making, when this amount was largely exceeded. In 

 this year, owinj; to the further reduction of hours, 

 another hand is employed, and overtime again 

 becomes the exception, save in the two instances 

 above mentioned. From these considerations I have 

 been led to believe that, provided the men do a fair 

 day's work, 63S working hours per week are required 

 to maintain the farm in a state of full productivity. 



" This belief is confirmed by the fact that in 1!>1H. 

 when 11 men were employed for ."><> hours each per 

 week (total filC hours), '_>_> hours' overtime were 

 required to cope with the work; but in 191!). when 

 1'J men are employe;! for VI hours each (total i>IS 

 hours), no overtime is required. Before the war the 

 long hours worked undoubtedly led to a diminished 

 output per man per hour, and all subsequent figures 

 are based on the standard of 63S etlieient working 

 hours per week heinc necessary for this particular 

 farm. 



" Tables are uiveti showing tho cost of labour per 

 hour, the percentage increase in wa^es and labour 

 nee 1MU. and also the increase in the price of 

 wheat. 



If one extra hand is einpl- ni|-ns:ite for the shorter hours 



